


Bleed it Out

by vilnolin



Series: X5REVISED [2]
Category: Dark Angel
Genre: Gen, x5revised
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-16
Updated: 2010-06-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 00:24:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/680564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vilnolin/pseuds/vilnolin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Alex's(eventually known as Alec) birthday. And he's in Bolivia. On another Manticore test. Joy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bleed it Out

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Species-ism, Manticore abuse, general war, song fic  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel. I also don't own the song.  
> 

  
_Yeah! Here we go for the hundredth time,  
Hand grenade pins in every line,  
Throw 'em up and let something shine,  
Going out of my fucking mind!_  
  
            It seemed he was forever in fox holes. Alex—known to every human who knew he existed as X5R-494—hunkered down against another hail of bullets, pleased as heck when 798 (better known as Jace), dropped into the pit beside him, one hand already extended with a fresh clip for his preferred P90. He grinned at her. “You are a goddess.”  
            She made a face, brown eyes bright against the smoke and dirt smeared under her cap, tufts of black hair sticking out from the back. “ _You_  need to stop gawking at Sam and remember to take more ammo. They’re  _looking_  for excuses to fail us.”  
            As if they needed any more than the fact that, on a cold February night six years ago, a good majority of their twins had run off, all from her former unit. They had already lost two of their number already; one to reindoctrination itself, another to a mission in Pakistan, in 2012. With several more members on the chopping block for scores or marksmanship, Alex knew they couldn’t afford to let anyone else fall; they’d be less than an operational unit.  
            “Jace, we’re the best. Just let them  _try_  to find a standard X5 to train with us.” He gloated, locking the clip in place. Jace just glared at him. “We out pace them in everything while dumbing ourselves down!”  
            “I don’t think everyone’s gonna make it. Happy Sweet Sixteen, by the way.” She tossed him a second clip. “You may want to avoid your Second today; Felix mentioned something called ‘birthday punches’?” Jace shrugged, blowing dust out of her sight. “You guys like all that ‘Common Civilian Bullshit’.”  
            Alex frowned at her. “ ‘Common Verbal Usage’, 798, something  _you_  should consider taking if you want to be considered for solo missions.”  
            Jace mock saluted him. “Yes sir, maybe after if I survive this exam, sir.”  
            494 flung mud at her. Jace retaliated with a handful of her own. “Hell of a birthday, stuck in a trench in Bolivia. Don’t normal people usually get  _laid_  on their sixteenth birthday or something?” Alex pouted.   
            Jace made a face. “ _Humans_  have a monthly mess after puberty…which somehow is related to their sixteenth birthday…but not. Just another reason why we’re superior; heat four times a year.”  
            Alex remained silent for a long time. “Why do you even know that?”  
            “What?” Jace sputtered.  
            “The human chick puberty thing. The really, really gross thing.”  
            Jace stared at him in absolute shock. “How the fuck do  _you_  know about it?”  
            Alex hesitated. “Uh, female lab techs. They give you the talk too? Cause seriously, I didn’t think they liked being asked if they needed the infirmary. Not my fault they smelled all coppery.”  
            “Aw, Alex, you’re pouting.” Alex swore he absolutely  _did not_  jump. To his credit, Jace also had started when Keegan—X5R-105—spoke directly behind him. She smiled, and pulled a clip from her BDUs, handing it over to Alex with a wink. “ _Tanjou-bi Omedetou_.”  
            Alex had a moment where words nearly failed him, and then he grinned, shooting back, “ _Arigatou._ *”  
            Keegan shrugged. “Nice with the lab techs, by the way. No wonder you can’t get laid.”  
            Alex scowled at her. “It’s not my fault they chemically castrated you all.”  
            Keegan tilted her head to the side as Jace doubled over in silent laughter. “I don’t think you  _can_  castrate a female.” 105 announced after a moment. “ I think the more appropriate term would be ‘temporarily spay’ us since you  _males_  couldn’t control yourselves and stop trying to kill each other to attempt to breed. Always the weaker sex.”  
            “Indubitably.” Jace agreed, banging her knuckles against Keegan’s. Alex hated when the females in the unit teamed up like this—for one thing, there seemed to be a lot  _more_  of them.  
            “Fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-FUCK!” The next thing the three heard was a rather large explosion, and Biggs came flying into the trench, half rolling in the mud to avoid landing heavily on his neck. Alex rolled his eyes and leaned forward in the cramped space, batting out the fires on Biggs’ back that were just out of reach on the flailing transgenic. “For the record, I  _hate_  Felix.  _Hate._.”  
            “Aw,” said Felix, dropping into the fox hole with much more casualness then Biggs had, “it was only a little explosion. Now my feelings are all hurt.”  
            Biggs stared at Felix with open disbelief. “You made a  _bomb_  out of your  _shoe_.”  
            Everyone looked towards Felix who was indeed standing with only one boot on, and looking slightly insulted. “For the record, it was my  _boot_. The Richard Reid Special.” He finished, grinning at Alex. Alex knocked him in the back of his head. “Hey!”  
            “And give me back my grenades! Don’t think I didn’t notice you snitched them off my belt.” 494 finished, giving Biggs a cursory pat down to make sure the flames were good and out.  
            Felix heaved a put on sigh and handed three of the twelve Alex could count over. “It’s not my fault Deck thinks  _three_  is enough for a mission.”  
            “I’m still wondering if you slept through Stealth and Infiltration.” Keegan said, staring at him in wonder. “I can hear you coming miles away.”  
            “Maybe I’m just covering your ass. Bigger distractions cause you’re not as stealthy as you think you are.” Felix shot back.   
            Alex put a hand between the two before they came to blows, something they  _really_ didn’t need, not on this mission. “Guys, two styles, both needed, can we stick to the mission objective here?” He held his free hand out, expectantly.  
            It took a minute for Biggs to catch on and grab the map from his vest, unrolling it and shoving up his helmet as it jostled with falling debris. “We’re not far from the no-man’s land. Deck said we had to get in, assassinate the rebel faction’s leader, and blow up their armor store.”  
            “Pick up?” Jace asked, hand already on her mission clock.  
            Biggs frowned. “Deck told me to radio when we were clear.”  
            Alex shook his head, “No. No way. There is no way in fucking  _hell_  Colonel Lydecker sent us on a suicide mission.”  
            “Well, it  _is_  Bolivia.”  
            “Keegan, not helping.” Alex wanted to pace, but standing up meant exposing himself to enemy fire; there hadn’t been time to dig out the trenches more, just to test for booby traps. They had been lucky enough the Bolivian rebels were stressed enough to not have time to set any nasty surprises. “Who are we meeting?”  
            “Another group of Jarheads.” Felix grumbled, lighting a cigarette. Alex grabbed it out of his mouth. Felix produced another one from somewhere in his vest, gloating. “It’s not like they can kill us, right? Stem cells and all that? Anyway, someone’s got to be at the rendezvous; there’s still people shooting each other, and I’m pretty sure they were shooting at us too.” He held out the pack to the rest of the group.  
            To Alex’s annoyance, everyone else grabbed one, and Felix passed the lighter around. “Pro-”  
            “Were you seriously going to say ‘Protocol’, Alex?” Jace asked, leaning in.   
            Grumpily, Alex snaked one more of the cigs before Felix slipped the box back into his pocket, grinning. “CO bends at peer pressure? I’m pretty sure that’s not leadership material, 494.” Felix mocked in his best Renfro voice.  
            Even Alex laughed, coughing a bit on the harsh smoke. “I wanted to do something…different. It’s apparently my birthday after all.”  
            “These taste terrible.” Keegan announced, spitting in a very unladylike fashion. Jace followed suit, grinding her cigarette out in the mud at her feet. “Humans have some fucked up habits.”  
            Felix wrinkled his nose, spitting too. “The marine who I snaked these off of looked like he was enjoying it.”  
            Alex flicked his as far as it would go, before watching Biggs attempt to pluck the cherry off the end of the white stick with his dirty fingers. “Should we move on this, or give the others some time to catch up?”  
            Biggs looked up, hissing a little when he burned his fingers. “Since when did this become a democracy?”  
            “Yeah, and isn’t the point to win before the others reach their objectives?” Jace gave a small shudder. “I’m the only one from… _that_  unit. I’m gonna be on the chopping block no matter what. And I  _really_  don’t wanna end up on a dissection table.”  
            Felix leaned over and gave her a one armed hug. “I think they weigh in that  _you_  stayed behind. You followed orders.”  
            By the look in Felix’s eyes, he felt the same that Alex did; that Jace was right and Manticore was just looking for an excuse to fail her, but he wasn’t going to say that. “And we’re not going to let you fail. You’re an X5R; you’re  _our_  unit, now.”  
            “I think I’m gonna cry.” Biggs fake sniffled. “That was beautiful, Alex.”  
            Jace punched him. “It was, now shut up.”  


_I bleed it out, go, stop the show, choppy words in a sloppy flow.  
Shotgun, I pull, lock and load. Cock it back and then watch it go.  
Mama help me I've been cursed, Death is rolling in every verse.  
Candy paint on his brand new hearse; Can't contain him he knows he works._  
  
            They fell into an uneasy silence, listening to the sounds of a war rampaging above them and shivering slightly in the damp puddles of water forming in the bottom of the trench. Alex knew many soldiers died of the poor conditions in fox holes, and their lessons in trench combat had been filled with broken jaws, stamped feet and gashed faces from bayonets and trench knives being lost in the cramped spaces, but this was worse. Pakistan had been a dry, sandy cramped heat. All their missions to the Russia were cold—not much chance for  _wet_  when your breath clung to the parka. This was by far the worst. But, no one had been seriously injured. Alex was grateful for that in this hell when they reached the far deeper trench where the marines were stationed. Just one major cut combined with the filth in any of these fox holes and the men were at risk for sepsis and gangrene.   
            Watching Felix’s expression (with his heightened sense of smell), also made him very grateful that Manticore had kept their meddling to his empathy and social skills; he had no description for the smell that lingered around some of the wounded and dying.  
            Unlike previous times, Alex found they were not met with hostility the moment they appeared. True, he didn’t like the way the men were leering at Jace and Keegan, but there wasn’t much he needed to do there. Both of them could handle five of the men easily. And it wasn’t like they were ever going to be alone.  
            “Sergeant William Teddy reporting as ordered, sir!” Alex snapped into a salute, the rest of his unit following suit behind him.  
            Immediately, the hustled and grey-haired field commander—Second Lieutenant Hanson—waved them into ‘At ease’ and frowned at them all. “I was told the X5s would be older, and that I was getting the elite branch.” He said blandly, ignoring Alex’s flimsy government cover.  
            Alex felt himself bristle, but forced himself to remain outwardly, Manticore blank. “I can’t speak to the age you were given sir, but we are the elite branch; the X5Rs.”  
            Hanson didn’t flinch as a grenade exploded overhead. He didn’t seem impressed that none of them did either. “The R stands for Revised.” He didn’t seem to be expecting an answer, so Alex remained silent. “What do you call yourselves?”  
            “X5R-494.”Alex sounded off.  
            They went in designation order after that: “X5R-105.”     

            “X5R-496.” Felix tossed in a salute.  
            “X5R-511.”  
            “X5R-798.”   
            Hanson didn’t look impressed. “You call each other by numbers? I think I may have to fail you on principal.”  
            “We’re under orders to, ass douche.” Felix muttered. Hanson turned his attention towards the tallest in their unit immediately, and Felix shifted uncomfortably, mostly because he was still sans one boot.  
            Hanson seemed to notice that too. “Are you the one who we saw throw the boot bomb before?”  
            Felix couldn’t help but smile a little. “It’s my Richard Reid Special.” He said, almost proudly.  
            Hanson cracked up, as did half the marines in ear shot. All of the transgenics flinched at the sudden loud sound, but Hanson reached forward, forcing Felix to remain where he was as he grasped his shoulder. “Any kid with a sense of humor’s got to have a better name then a number.”  
            Alex paused, glancing back at the rest of the unit. He knew Hanson caught his delay; the guy was smarter then he gave him credit for, he’d have to be on his guard around this particular group of jarheads. “Just our designations, sir.”  
            Hanson gave the tiniest of nods and Alex let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding; test one was out of the way. He hadn’t been expecting Manticore to throw a psy-ops one in there. “You are all briefed on the target?” Hanson continued. Alex nodded, catching the rest of his team mimicking him out of the corner of his eye, Felix a bit more subdued now that he had been singled out. “Good. The target has increased his fortifications since last intelligence. Someone tipped him off that he’s got a hit on him.”  
            : _Five days meds says Manticore._ : Felix gestured quickly, catching the team’s attention. Alex wasn’t surprised when no one took the bet.  
            “You still moving in?” Hanson was not so good at hiding the weight behind his words.  
            Alex didn’t need the stomp on his heel from Jace or the nudge from Biggs, or even the poke with the point of…whatever Keegan just poked him with to say; “Sir, yes, sir. We just need a couple minutes to get a survey of the new security and make an improv layout for an attack plan. Sir.”  
            Apparently, this was hilarious to Hanson and his marines too, because they started laughing in their overly loud voices again, and Alex spared a small thought as to why they hadn’t been targeted by  _missile_  yet, the enemy  _certainly_  had to know where they were; they were just so  _loud_.  
            “Would you look at them flinch like skittish deer!” One of the marines crowed, stepping towards Keegan. “They send us pretty little high schoolers who move like little deer and tell us  _they’re_  gonna get Guaman? You don’t look like you could hurt a fly…” He reached out and brushed a hand through Keegan’s long, black hair. Keegan didn’t move, remaining as still as a spooked wild animal.  
            Alex nodded.   
            Lightening quick, Keegan had the man’s arm up behind his back, his wrist a centimeter from snapping and his face pressed into the filthy water at the bottom of the trench. Alex put a hand on Felix’s chest, making sure he didn’t jump in when the fight was already over, especially as Keegan pushed his arm just a little more, saying, “I think you should keep to your species,  _human_.” before letting go of his arm and falling back into a more protected spot in the formation.  
            Alex lazily looked towards Hanson, who was staring in awe at the whole display. “That was our martial arts expert and best at undetected infiltration. For the record, I wouldn’t suggest pissing either of our females off.” He let the rest of the threat go unsaid, because Felix was being intimidating enough for himself, Biggs and Alex. The marines were now giving them a wide birth despite the small space afforded to them.  
            “Noted.” Hanson gasped, finally. “Well, dismissed. Go…do your thing.”  


_Fuck this hurts, I won’t lie; Doesn't matter how hard I try._  
Half the words don't mean a thing and I know that I won't be satisfied,   
  


 

            “‘Increased fortifications’ my ass.” Biggs grumbled, glancing between from the map to the small fort in the jungle. He lowered his hand blocking the sun and hopped down from his perch in the tree. “The satellite reads we got on this place are completely dated. Manticore tipped them off, and well. The place  _looks_  like the obstacle course back home.”  
            Alex hung his head, sighing. “We all knew this was a test-”  
            “-But can they just stop testing us already?” Keegan snapped, throwing a rock into the no-man’s land and hitting a landmine squarely. The resulting explosion seemed to do nothing for her mood, which had been sour ever since the incident in the fox hole. “Aren’t missions supposed to be  _fun_?”  
            Jace paused in washing her face from the small stream they had paused by. “I know. These were so much more fun when they weren’t for qualifications and certifications to do more crazy and stupid shit.”  
            “But I  _like_  crazy and stupid.” Felix whined, attempting to attach more grenades to his vest.   
            Alex figured there were going to be some pissed off marines when they realized their grenades were appropriated by a demolitions expert with sticky fingers. “I’m waiting for you to self-detonate.”  
            Felix grinned at him, holding out a grenade. “Pull my pin.”  
            Biggs threw the map at Alex, which completely missed, fluttering in front of Jace in the stream instead. “Guys! Focus!”  
            Jace pulled the map from the water, shaking it out. “I don’t think this is gonna do us much good.”  
            “Why are we  _Air Force_?” Keegan suddenly asked.  
            “Good question, Keegan, but really not on topic.” Alex said, attempting to give her a winning smile. She put a large crawling thing on his arm instead, and Alex was not owning up to any sound that may or may not have been a screech. “Keegan!”  
            “You let a human touch me!”  
            Alex paused. “Ok, point. But that was like, a millipede or something.”  
            Biggs smacked him. “On topic!”  
            Felix smacked  _him_. “Genius. It’s built like our obstacle course back home.  _Think_.”   
            Alex sometimes wondered what cruel and unusual punishment put him in charge of this group of ‘intelligent super soldiers’. “Can I count on you two  _not_  blowing each other up as you set the charges?” He asked, only half joking.  
            Felix grabbed Biggs in a one armed hug, which ended up being a headlock for the smaller transgenic (or because Felix was so freakishly tall for a 49 clone) and gave a mock salute. “You know me, boss, I only ever blow myself up. Unless Biggs happens to be standing too close to a charge, or a boot or something.”  
            “You threw the boot!” Biggs accused, struggling against the bear-enhanced transgenic’s arm. “At me!”  
            “It wasn’t at you, psha. It was  _behind_  you.”  
            Alex resisted the urge to slap himself in the face. “Jace, Keegan, you guys are going to be on the internal security. Keegan, I need you to specifically go in advance and try to take out their feeds before the rest of us hit it.”  
            Keegan gave him a fierce smile. “They won’t see me, and they’ll be blind before you get there.”  
            Alex smacked her shoulder. “Don’t get cocky.”  
            “I’m backing you up till you’re in the room, right?” Jace questioned.  
            Alex shook his head. “You and Keegan both will be coming in with me. That’s the one room we don’t have schematics for, I’m not going in blind. Keegan’s got window, you and I got the hallway door.”  
            Biggs frowned. “How come the girls always get the kill count?”  
            Felix got him in another headlock. “Because you never count your explosions.”  
            Alex gave him a look. “He’s got a point.” He stood, checking his clip before locking it back into place. “We clear? Let’s move out.”  
            It went perfect to plan until Keegan cut their security feeds.  


_I bleed it out…_  
I've opened up these scars.  
I'll make you face this!  
I pulled myself so far,   
I'll make you face this now!  
  


            “Uh…Alex?” Jace tugged on his sleeve, pulling his attention away from the inner wall, where he was just about to jump down onto the roof sequestered inside.  
            “What?”  
            “Your target’s in the courtyard.”  
            Alex nearly lost his balance as he swiveled on the balls of his feet, trying to see the exact opposite direction of where he had been trying to get. In bright flood lights, his mark was standing, at gun point, by his own forces. “Are they threatening his life if we continue the attack?”  
            Jace rolled her eyes. “Quechua is not one of my languages, Alex.”  
            Alex frowned, and struggled to translate the strange words. “They don’t want to be part of our government’s test!”  
            “Fuck!” Alex looked up at Jace, who was looking towards the inner wall of the courtyard. “Keegan’s going for the sniper shot!”  
            “Well of course, if  _we_  don’t end this, Deck will fail us.” He bit his lip. “Thing is, she’s gonna be made.”  
            “I think she knows that.” Jace was already moving along the wall, trying to get as close to Keegan as she could, but the perimeter fence was too big, and there were too many guards.  
            Alex’s silencer was already wearing out, and he couldn’t waste time if he wanted to make it there before—  
 _Bang_  
            It was loud to him, since even with a silencer, any sniper rifle would be, and he turned fast enough to see the flash of the muzzle light up Keegan’s face—the good soldier blank—and Guaman fall, the guard shouting in Quechua going down with him. She started to smile, already breaking down the gun and storing it when another shot rang out; Keegan just looked startled as she jerked backwards and hit the wall, slumping against it.  
            Alex was over the wall and on the ground before he realized it, P90 firing, and missing return fire by scant millimeters and some strange luck. Jace was right behind him, walking, taking her time to aim and fire, each shot taking a guard out between the eyes.  
            “ _Los niños Diablo!_ ” A man screamed, just before Alex pistol-whipped him with the butt of his P90. Manticore had given them black ops uniforms; if survivors ran back with tales of Devil Children, they wouldn’t know which military they came from.  
            He reached Keegan in less than a minute, with half a clip left, and immediately checked for a pulse. He was greeted with her catching his wrist, which he was ever so grateful for, but he shoved her hand down, and checked it anyway. It was fluttering and choppy, he didn’t like it. “Keegan, hey, I need you to tell me where it hurts.” He said, starting to pat her down, working from her shoulders to her chest. He felt Jace above him, could feel shells bouncing off his head and knew she had their back.  
            Keegan blearily opened her eyes. “Alex? Uh…oh…ow. Fuck.” She made a face, and Alex winced in sympathy. “I feel like I got punched in the chest.” She made to take a deep breath, and started coughing, Alex having to pull her back up right. “Below the Xiphoid process. May have got my diaphragm.”  
            Alex frowned, and tugged up her shirt, saying, “I’m not being fresh,” Exposing her lean stomach, and a bullet hole in her left lower rib cage.  
            Keegan gave a little sardonic laugh. “Ah, come on, only skin you’ll see today.”  
            Alex forced himself to laugh, despite the grim outlook when he risked a glance at her back; there was no exit wound. “I knew it. You got yourself shot just so you could strip for me. Best birthday ever.”  
            “Dream on.” Jace muttered, still firing methodically at the general anarchy that had broken out. “Can she be moved?”  
            Alex hit her in the leg. Jace glanced over, and saw his gesture towards her back. She hissed in sympathy at what Alex knew he was going to have to do. Keegan frowned at them. “What? What?” Alex dug into his pouch, pulling out his field med kit. Keegan’s eye went wide, and then she went for her own belt, pulling out her leather pill case and smacking him with it. “I remember how you scored in Field Med.” She said, putting it between her teeth.  
            Alex pulled out his lighter, quickly sterilizing his combat knife and tweezers. “At least I’m here and not Felix.”  
            “I think she’d rather it be Felix.” Jace quipped, shooting a comforting smile to Keegan, who smacked at her leg, weakly. Jace fired off two more rounds before bending and pulling a clip out of Alex’s back pocket. “Sorry to have to steal the birthday clip back.”  
            Alex didn’t respond, he was already leaning in, attempting to cut as little as he had to in order to expose the bullet. Keegan was struggling not to move, and he already had nicked skin outside of the enflamed wound; she was shot by a big gun, a .500 caliber if he was judging the size right. After he finally got the wound wide enough to see the bullet, he had to get it out. “Hang on, Keegan. This is gonna hurt like fuck.”  
            She wiggled a bit against the tweezers finding the bullet, and Alex made sure he got the grip on tight, and giving himself a mental count,  _yanked_.  
            Keegan made a sound that nearly broke his ear drums, but the blood flowed good and strong before it stemmed itself, her body already fighting to heal itself. He had never been so happy that she was so scrawny. “You have a dent in your rib.”  
            “Fuck…off…” She passed out. Alex didn’t blame her, and spared a glance at the bullet ( _They used a Magnum?_ ) before slapping an antiseptic bandage on her ribs and binding it down with duct-tape.  
            “Hey,” he said, after pulling one of their special smelling salts under her nose. “Keegan, I need you to move.”  
            “I think I’m gonna be sick.” She moaned, but allowed him to pull her to her feet, swaying a bit. “I can’t run, Alex. It’s out, but…fuck…”  
            “Luckily, you chose to get shot right by our egress.” He gave her a cocky smile. “Jace’s gonna help you over. I’m gonna dodge on back there, make sure you can make it.” He ducked as Keegan’s pistol came up, and fired just beside him. He spun to see one of the rebels—on fire for some reason—drop where he stood, about five feet behind Alex. “Huh, thanks.”  
            “My aim’s not hurt.” Keegan grumbled.  
            Alex caught Jace’s eye-roll as he dropped over the wall, landing in a crouch and coming up to face, “Felix!”  
            The taller, dark haired facsimile raised an eyebrow, looking slightly perturbed. “You were taking too long. And I smell blood.  _Our_  blood.”   
            Alex held up his hand. “Target moved. Keegan took the shot, but exposed herself. I fixed her-”  
            “ _You_  fixed her-”  
            Alex wanted very strongly to punch  _something_. “Yes,  _I_  fixed her. Do you  _remember_  which one of us failed field med? Not me. She’s behind the wall.”  
            Felix didn’t look mollified. Alex really didn’t care at that moment; the two of them were starting to act like a bunch of moody humans. That or those elementary school human children who punch each other and then run away screaming about cooties.  
            Alex paused as the realization hit him.  _Oh._  He watched as Felix scaled the wall, and despite a rather loud objection from Keegan, brought her back over with him, Jace following close behind. Keegan was looking paler, but happier despite being annoyed, and Alex really didn’t want to deal with this. “Where’s Biggs?”  
            “Laying the last charges.” Felix said, still holding Keegan in his arms.  _She_  didn’t look nearly as annoyed as she did before, but Alex could scent fresh blood, and it was easy to see that the small movements had opened the wound further.  
            “No, I’m here.” Biggs was panting up behind him, one arm hanging limply at his side. Jace started to go to him, but he shook his head. “It’s just dislocated. One of the rebels caught on that I wasn’t one of the illegitimate kids, and chased me out a window. Defenestrated himself and I hit a scaffold on the way down.”  
            Alex nodded. “Good, then we can go.”  
            “Is the test over yet?” Keegan asked weakly. “Did we pass?”  


_I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away._  
Just to throw it away, just to throw it away.  


  
            “Back already?” Hanson demanded when Alex and his team showed up.  
            Alex knew why he was surprised, it was only two hours after they had left his oh-so- _pleasurable_  company. “We need your medic.” He said, pushing aside a marine standing dumbfounded with just a little too much force. The man when flying into the mud wall, collapsing part of it, and looking now flabbergasted that a sixteen year old had just _thrown_  him. Alex shrugged an apology.  
            Hanson reached into his vest and pulled out a stethoscope and Alex mentally cursed his creators; of course. “What was the field triage?”  
            “Bullet removal.” Alex supplied, helping Felix lay Keegan out on the makeshift workstation that Hanson gestured to. “This isn’t an active unit is it.” He couldn’t stop the suspicion from creeping into his voice.  
            Hanson spared him a small glance before barking an order for a vial of morphine after thinking hard, most likely about what medications they had; most of the X5s had the feline allergy to aspirin and its related drugs. “We were a medical attachment.”  
            “She’s gonna need more than that.” Biggs piped up, watching the syringe fill. “Our metabolisms eat that.”  
            Alex shot him a look and he fell silent. Hanson spared him another glance before following Biggs’ suggestion, and increasing the dose. “You’re smarter then I was lead to believe.”  
            “I can’t speak to that. How’s 105?”   
            Hanson continued working, but dodged Alex’s rather blunt refusal to play the game. “How long have you known you’re better than your handlers?”  
            Alex’s mouth went dry, and he couldn’t speak. Thankfully, Felix did, “Sir, we are soldiers. We are no better than the ones who send us on our missions. We can only hope we live up to their expectations.” He could hear the bite to the words, everyone in his unit could. Alex personally  _hated_  that speech; the amount of times he had to give it, despite the fact he could have easily killed the questioner.  
            “How many times have you bled because they wanted you to?” Hanson continued, carefully stitching the wound shut with three tight stitches on his curved needle. “You don’t have to worry, as long as that building goes up-”  
            As if it was timed, the entire jungle seemed to shake and a ball of fire lit up the horizon. Felix looked only mildly pleased with himself. “I seriously didn’t plan that.”  
            Hanson chuckled, replacing Keegan’s bandage with a clean one, and removing his gloves. “I think it’s safe to say you passed.” He helped Keegan sit up; since she seemed to have a hard time figuring out which direction  _was_  up, given the morphine. “The boys are heading in towards the mess hall, since the rebels pulled back after your stunt at their base. With this explosion, I think we got a few days off. Enjoy some food and music, I’ll call Lydecker.” He pointed at Keegan, “And you don’t move around too much.”  
            She went cross-eyed looking at his finger, and he just chuckled. Alex shared a look with the rest of his team, before quickly helping Felix with their drugged unit mate, and heading off, out of the trench.   
            The food was awful, as was to be expected. The company was better than they had anticipated, probably because they had just kicked some serious ass. What they hadn’t expected was the  _music_ , and then Hanson’s warning made sense as Alex and his team discovered dancing in a dirty jungle dance floor in Bolivia.  


  
_I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away,_  
Just to throw it away, just to throw it away!  
  


            Lydecker put down the field report, chuckling at Hanson. Of course  _he_  would let five sixteen year old X5s into a marine bar, and, of all the teams testing today, it  _would_  be 494’s to end up with a theme song. Why Hanson thought it was appropriate to inform him that he had dubbed it the X5Rs’ ‘Official’ Theme, Lydecker had no idea, but he figured it had something to do with the fact these kids were outsmarting an entire government facility and he was inclined to watch it happen. Heck, he was  _encouraging_  it. He wanted these kids to be the  _best_ , and they would be. He was going to hate to have to inform them that not everyone had passed. 494 had led his team safely. 600 had been behind schedule, but still passed. 345’s team was the real trouble, which was why the fifteen X5Rs were going to be dropping down to eleven.  
            But for now, he was just going to enjoy himself. And perhaps give the passing teams some music time. They had their own theme song after all…  


_  
I bleed it out!_  
  
  
*tanjou-bi Omedetou: Happy Birthday,   
Arigatou: Thank You , Japanese  
  
 _Bleed It Out_  by Linkin Park


End file.
